La Navoneta gets another chance

Navone is slipping down the rankings... could he use this opportunity to grab some points?

Walton managed to bother Zverev quite a bit in his 7-6, 6-4 loss to him in his most recent match in Toronto! Navone managed to beat a very stiff-looking Struff in his first round before losing in straight sets to Nava in the second round of qualifying. I thought Navone was decent in both matches, but his ability to finish points really hurt him against Nava, who was able to get a lot more free points out of his serve...

Both Walton and Navone are Solid Baseliners with high rally tolerance and a generally well-rounded game. Walton's game is more suited to hardcourt with a bigger serve and forehand, whereas Navone would prefer clay with a slightly more defensive approach. So, this should be quite straightforward, right? Walton should win because the faster conditions on outdoor hard courts should suit him a lot better. Yes, that does make sense, but there is something else that could be a factor for me in this one. Navone enters as a Lucky Loser, and he is desperate to grab whatever points he can for the rest of the season, despite it being a lot harder for him due to the surfaces and court conditions that are remaining for the rest of the year (mainly fast hardcourt). Something that comes to mind is Navone's match against Tien in Indian Wells, where Navone won 7-5, 6-4, defying expectations. Tien was unable to hit through Navone and was worn down by him... Yes, the conditions here are faster, but Walton does not possess the most powerful game either, so could Navone go into WALL-mode here and achieve a similar result? Navone has had some good matches on faster hardcourt already (especially against players who lack the power to penetrate his defenses). He took Draper to five sets in the Australian Open as a 10+ underdog... and played good matches against Mannarino and Borges in Auckland prior to that. I sense a real trap spot here for Walton, and I want to believe in Navone to put up a huge fight!